Iodine Compounds - Iodine Chemistry - Inorganic Iodine Compounds

Inorganic Iodine Compounds

Iodine forms compounds with all the elements except for the noble gases. From the perspective of commercial applications, an important compound is hydroiodic acid, used as a co-catalyst in the Cativa process for the production of acetic acid. Titanium and aluminium iodides are used in the production of butadiene, a precursor to rubber tires.

Alkali metal salts are common colourless solids that are highly soluble in water. Potassium iodide is a convenient source of the iodide anion; it is easier to handle than sodium iodide because it is not hygroscopic. Both salts are mainly used in the production of iodized salt. Sodium iodide is especially useful in the Finkelstein reaction, because it is soluble in acetone, whereas potassium iodide is less so. In this reaction, an alkyl chloride is converted to an alkyl iodide. This relies on the insolubility of sodium chloride in acetone to drive the reaction:

R-Cl + NaI → R-I + NaCl

Despite having the lowest electronegativity of the common halogens, iodine reacts violently with some metals, such as aluminium:

3 I₂ + 2 Al → 2 AlI₃

This reaction produces 314 kJ per mole of aluminium, comparable to thermite's 425 kJ. Yet the reaction initiates spontaneously, and if unconfined, causes a cloud of gaseous iodine due to the high temperature.